This cache is part of a Northern Bike Path (NBP) series on the bike path alongside the Christchurch Northern Corridor Motorway (NCM). Access to all of the caches is from the cycle path, please do not try to access any of the caches from the motorway and do not stop/park up on the motorway.
Various suburban side roads provide easy car parking and access to the cycle path. It is possible to walk, run, scooter and, of course, cycle the path (24/7 if need be!).
Christchurch city’s Northern Corridor Motorway is approximately 16.5km long and extends from upper Cranford street to near Chaney’s Corner where it merges back into State Highway 1 just before the Waimakariri River Bridge. The NCM comprises four lanes, with various on and off ramps, and essentially decreases the travel time of city commuters by utilising motorway speeds and by bypassing the suburbs of Redwood and Belfast. Construction commenced in 2016 and the motorway opened in December 2020 at a cost of $240M.
As part of the project a shared use NBP was constructed alongside and runs the entire length of the NCM (with its own various entry/exit points). During the NCM project, the Waimakariri Motorway Bridge was also upgraded (widened from four to six lanes) and a ‘clip-on’ shared use cycle path was also added to the bridge. This clip-on provides protected access across the river for cyclists and pedestrians and allows the NBP to be extended into the town of Kaiapoi.
A nice write-up about the NBP can be found here.
Christchurch City Council have a good site listing all cycling routes here.